Lenovo Launches 8-Inch and 10-Inch Android-Powered Yoga Tablets

Lenovo expanded its Yoga brand to new consumer and business convertible tablets (what Lenovo calls “multimode”) with Windows 8.1. The company is now taking the Yoga brand into the Android space with two new tablets. The Yoga Tablet 8 and Yoga Tablet 10 are 8-inch and 10-inch tablets powered by a quad core ARM processor and running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
The two Lenovo tablets are sleek devices with a rounded edge and built in stand. The slate-style tablets with a stand that allows it to be used as a tablet, tilted slightly on a tablet for typing or propped up vertically (110-degrees to 135-degrees) for watching videos.Much like a magazine, the tablets are thin except for a rounded edge that contains the battery, power button, dual speakers, and headphone jack. Lenovo intends for users to hold the tablet using this rounded handle.

The 8-inch tablet is 0.88 pounds while the 10-inch tablet is 1.34 pounds. Both tablets have 1280x800 resolution multi-touch displays, two speakers below the display (Dolby audio technology), and a 1.6 MP webcam. Both tablets have rear 5 MP (with auto-focus) cameras.
Internally, the Yoga Tablet 8 and Yoga Tablet 10 are powered by a quad core MT8125 processor clocked at 1.2 GHz, 1GB of LP-DDR2 memory, 16GB of internal storage, and a laptop-class battery (9,000 mAh in the 10-inch and 6,000 mAh in the 8-inch version). Lenovo also includes a micro SD and micro SIM card slot in both models (3G limited to certain countries). IO options include a micro USB port with USB OTG functionality, 3.5mm headphone jack, and 802..b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 radios.

Lenovo is also offering up a detachable keyboard cover for the 10-inch model (and that model only) that connects via Bluetooth.

The 8-inch Lenovo Yoga Tablet 8 is available now for $249 exclusively from Best Buy and the Lenovo website. On the other hand, the 10-inch Yoga Tablet 10 is available now for $299 from all of the major retailers. The bluetooth keyboard cover for the Yoga 10 is an additional $69. The tablets look like interesting devices, and the prices are not bad. I am curious what users and reviewers think of the rounded handle design.

Got it yesterday at a local Best Buy store and am amazed about speed and design. Not sure what is slow about this device? I compared it to a iPad Mini (wife's_ and didn't notice any slowness at all. Loading the same app (iOS or Android 4.2.2) no difference. Internet browsing is snappy too!